With its huge population of 92 million, 50% of them under the age of 25, Vietnam has become an attractive destination for the world’s major franchises. In urban areas, numerous franchises in sectors such as fast food, clothing, exercise, coffee, and convenience stores can be found, with Western franchises as well as franchises from Korea and other Asian countries flourishing.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar has moved one step closer to liberalizing its trade economy. On February 19, 2016, the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce issued Notification No. 11/2016, which lifted existing trade restrictions on foreign-owned joint venture companies that prevented them from trading in certain classes of goods relating to agribusiness and medical equipment.With the removal of these trade restrictions, foreign-owned joint venture companies are now allowed to trade in the following classes of goods:

Termination Traffic Lights 2015, published by Mayer Brown in collaboration with Tilleke & Gibbins and other leading law firms, provides an overview of the level of risk and requirements associated with employment termination and related aspects in 14 countries across Asia and Australasia. David Duncan, a consultant in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group, contributed the Thailand portion of the guide, which assesses areas including:

The final months of 2015 saw a flurry of new legislation in Vietnam’s Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector. Some of the new regulations have recently taken effect, while others will become effective later in 2016. Below we provide an overview of some key legislation:

Copyright owners often mistakenly believe that the copyrights they hold in other jurisdictions will also be automatically protected under Cambodian law. In fact, this is not the case, as there are a number of limitations on those rights.

The Manual of Industrial Property, Supplement No. 168, 2016, published by Kluwer Law, provides an overview of industrial property across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. The Thailand chapter of the guide, coauthored by Darani Vachanavuttivong, co-managing partner and managing director of the intellectual property department at Tilleke & Gibbins, and Dr. Jakkrit Kuanpoth, Of Counsel in the firm, examines the following main subjects in detail, among others:

In today’s business world, patents are increasingly used by innovative companies as a tool to support technology transfer and to create opportunities for commercial success. Owning a patent provides a competitive advantage, and it often leads to possibilities to license or sell the patented technology and expand into international markets.

Getting the Deal Through – Arbitration 2016, published by Law Business Research, provides an overview of arbitration law in 50 jurisdictions around the world. Kornkieat Chunhakasikarn, attorney-at-law, and John Frangos, consultant, in Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group, coauthored the Thailand chapter of the guide, which covers the following subjects in detail: